Satisfaction Guaranteed(49)

I stand and walk around the desk, wishing I could take her in my arms. Her lips quiver, and she purses them tightly.

“We always planned for this to be a one-week trip. I guess we got to Tahiti and back sooner.”

She licks her lips then nods with a jerky motion. “You definitely got me there.” She swallows, and it sounds like her throat catches. “I need to go.”

She turns and leaves.

Later, when I go home, I tell myself I did the right thing.

I call bullshit on myself.

How can this be right when everything feels wrong?





40





Working with a woman you can’t have is awesome.

Said no one ever.

But a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.

The next day, I have to go to work.

I treat patients, tightly focused on the needs of my four-legged clientele all morning, saying a curt hello to Sloane when I see her.

Apricat’s new owner—since he was adopted quickly from the rescue—comes in that afternoon for a follow-up. The redhead is nervous and kind, asking a ton of questions about her cat. I reassure her that all is well in kitty land. “I promise—the little guy is doing great.”

A little later, Quinn and his person arrive. I give that cat a thorough exam and pronounce him on the mend. When I escort the owner out of the exam room, Sloane is in the reception area with Sam, deep in discussion, maybe about a barista, maybe about a band.

I don’t know.

I don’t try to listen.

But Quinn does. As soon as he hears Sloane’s voice, he meows and scrabbles at his crate door. “Meow!”

Sloane spins around, a smile lighting up her face. “Hey, Quinn. I missed you, buddy,” she says. “You sure look good.”

Kneeling down, she pets him through the front of his carrier. My heart speeds up, running toward her. It handsprings in my chest when she sings, “After you've gone and left me cryin’. After you've gone, there's no denyin’. You'll feel blue, you'll feel sad.”

She raises her face on the last line, catching my gaze for a fleeting moment.

It’s the same for me, I want to say. It’s absolutely the same.





41





Sloane Elizabeth’s Post-It Note for Yet Another Day

1. Chin up.



2. Eyes on the prize.



3. Keep going.



4. Be strong. Everything is fine. Everything is fine. Repeat after me—everything is fine.



5. After all, you found a home for Mr. Fox plus five new animals this week alone.



6. Keep thinking about that.



7. Keep saying it.





42





Damn.

Music is so much better when love has kicked the shit out of you. I’m rocking my set tonight at the Lucky Spot.

This Midtown watering hole is owned by my cousin Nick’s good buddy Spencer, and Spencer’s wife, Charlotte. They expanded and added a lounge to their bar, and now and then I sing here.

I finish out my set with Harry Connick Jr., then make my way to the table where my crew is waiting. Nick’s wife, Harper, touches my arm and makes a sizzling sound. “You are on fire, A Good Man,” she says.

I smile faintly. “Thank you very much,” I say in my best Elvis impression.

Spencer and Charlotte are at the table too, and so are Jason and Truly, along with Herb and Olivia. The bartender brings us drinks, and we thank her, then I take a swallow of my whiskey.

Spencer claps me on the shoulder. “Such a shame you have no talent.”

Charlotte glances at her husband, then at Truly and Harper. “Can you imagine if he could croon for real? A hot singing vet? He’d win hearts everywhere. It’s a good thing you can’t sing for shit,” she says.

“He’d win all the ladies if he could croon halfway decently,” Jason remarks.

Truly jumps in. “We’ll just leave the lady-winning to you, Jason.”

Jason leans across the table, giving my sister a flirty stare. “But you know you’re the one I truly want.”

My sister rolls her eyes. “As if I’d give you the time of day.”

Charlotte laughs, pointing from Truly to Jason. “Are you two doing this again? That thing where you flirt but pretend you’re not flirting?”

Truly crosses her arms indignantly. “I do not flirt with him.”

Jason informs the whole group, “She definitely flirts with me.”

Harper pats his arm. “Just ask the woman out. Put us out of our misery.”

Jason laughs. “It’s much more fun this way.”

I sit back and drink my whiskey, observing the theater of my friends, especially since I don’t think a damn thing will ever happen with Jason and Truly, despite the rampant flirting. There are plenty of reasons why it won’t happen, or, really one reason, but that’s a story for another time. For now, I do my best to enjoy their antics while I wish a certain someone could be here.

“So,” Olivia says, tapping the table with her nails and staring at me like she just read my mind, “how’s everything going with your lovely lady?”